The Gifts We Give
by AliBee
Summary: An entry for the OCOH board, set after Drive. Carter and Abby talk.


This was an entry for the June challenge on the OCOH board. The challenge elements were: We're having a Carby post Drive challenge epilogue thingy, 1250 - 1750 words long.  
  
Must include reasoning behind Carter carrying that box.  
  
It must be set no more than 48 hours after the finale ends. Disclaimer: Carter and Abby don't belong to me.  
  
John Carter let himself into Gamma's mansion, despite his donating it, the deal hadn't gone through yet, so when he was in need of a quiet place he found himself drawn there. He set the box under his arm down on the couch, then sat next to it. Several brightly wrapped packages sat inside the box, but he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with them yet. They were birthday presents his friends at work had given him. Luka had explained as he handed him the box that there had been a party planed, but they didn't want to make him uncomfortable, given the circumstances. He fingered the card on the present on top. Of course he recognized the handwriting; it was Abby's. He let a small smile cross his face, remembering her pure joy at finding out she had passed her boards. She had been radiant, and he has wished he had been able to pull her into the embrace that he longed for, but their relationship was too complicated. It had always been complicated. Maybe that's had drawn him briefly to Kem. That relationship was uncomplicated, but it was also built on a false foundation and it was crumbling rapidly now that the one thing that held them together was gone. He didn't think it would be long before Kem was gone too, she had never liked Chicago and in reality there was nothing holding her here now. They had spoken those words, the words he had been to afraid to say to Abby, but in his heart he knew it was only the baby he loved, and he was pretty sure Kem knew it too. Carter picked up the package, he just couldn't help himself, he was drawn to it, just like he had always been drawn to Abby. He opened it carefully and soon he cradled her gift in his hands. How could she be so thoughtful after all he put her through. She had given him a pair of special coffee cups with a laminated recipe for apple pie and a card that said simply 'coffee and pie, on me, always.'  
  
Abby headed home after finishing what would be her last nursing shift. She usually took the El, but she was too excited to sit still, so she walked instead. The walk gave her time to think. It had made her happy that the first person she could share her big news with was Carter. If it wasn't for him, and damn letter, she wouldn't be a doctor today. She couldn't deny that that letter had hurt, it had hurt a lot, but she used that hurt to force her to focus on herself, not on her crazy family, not on boyfriends. And today everything paid off. Today she finished what she started. Today, and for every day forward she was a Doctor. A doctor and a friend. When Carter first came back, his pregnant girlfriend in tow, she couldn't stand being near him, not that she would let that show, to him or anyone. No one would know the tears she shed in the darkness of her bedroom, the first time the day the letter arrived and the last the morning his baby died. She had mourned the end of their relationship, never guessing that it really wasn't an end. She had avoided him, then spoke in platitudes. Until the day she found herself having coffee with him, his helping her into her jacket like it was second nature. The coffee had been like a truth serum, and they both said things that had remained unsaid for so long, the biggest being "I'm sorry." They had both said it, and she knew they had both meant it sincerely. That was the day she realized she still loved him. But she knew how much he wanted a family, and she would not interfere with his dream, so she had to be content to again be his friend.  
  
She had just hit the landing of the stairs when she heard her phone start to ring. She sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs, unlocked her door, and grabbed the phone before it could stop ringing.  
  
"Hello," she said.  
  
"You sound out of breath," Carter said without preamble.  
  
"Maybe it had something to do with running up the stairs to answer the phone, just to be insulted," she shot back.  
  
"Sorry, I wasn't calling to insult you, I was calling to ask if I could come over." he said softly.  
  
"Umm," Abby hesitated, as much as she wanted to see him, she knew this was a fragile time for him.  
  
"Please?"  
  
Abby felt her heart leap into her throat, how could she resist him. "Okay, Carter, how long till you get here?" she said, as the doorbell rang. She crossed to the door, and pulled it open, just in time to hear him say, "now," and to see him standing on her doorstep. He reached for her, pulling her into a tight one armed hug, "I should have done this before," he whispered in her ear. "Congratulations, I am so proud of you."  
  
Without thinking, Abby felt her arms wrap around him, and time stood still as they enjoyed just being in each others arms again. Finally, Abby pulled back, "Why are you here, John?" she asked, tenderly. Carter held out the bouquet of dried flowers he had behind his back. "I saw these, and though of you."  
  
Abby smiled as she accepted the flowers from him. Carter was the one man who seemed to understand her strange fascination for dried flowers. Richard had just laughed when she told him she preferred dried flowers, and Luka never sent her any flowers at all.  
  
"Oh," Carter said, as he headed back to her door, "I've got something else for you too," he said, as he picked up a gift wrapped in butterfly paper from the hall and handed it to her.  
  
"You didn't have to do this, I think tuition was a big enough gift," Abby said, "but thank you."Abby sat the box on the table and unwrapped it to unveil a plain white bakery box. She opened the lid and pulled out the two pieces of apple pie. Her face broke into a huge grin, "Did you bake these?" she asked, turning to face Carter.  
  
"Are you kidding, I bought it at Windy City Baking. You know I can't cook," Carter said with a chuckle. "But I did appreciate the thought behind the recipe."  
  
"You know, Carter, I really am here, if you ever need to talk," Abby said, almost shyly as she arranged her flowers into a vase and put them on the table.  
  
As Carter stood in her kitchen, getting plates for their pie, he remembered another conversation that took place here, and his promise to not go anywhere and he knew how wrong he was to have left when things got rough. He had done what he always accused her of, he ran. And that was as big a betrayal as bringing Kem back. He wished with all his heart he could go back to that moment, as they stood in the street and she begged him not to go. How if he hadn't been so confused at the time he would have realized his girlfriend, who was the queen of hidden emotions, had laid her heart on the line, exposing her absolute fear for his safety. In hindsight he realized he should have stayed, at least long enough to reassure her he really would be okay. Instead he ran and spent the next seven months trying to forget that he had screwed up the best thing that had ever happened in his life. And now was the time to try to fix it. He set the plates down on the table, and reached for Abby's hand.  
  
"I wish I could take back the hurt I caused," Carter started. "She'll be gone soon. I won't ask her to leave, but I know she's going to go. Like with Rena and Susan, I couldn't hide how I feel about you from her. She knew it before we got here. Is it too late, Abby. Have I damaged things too much?"  
  
Abby felt her heart leap into her throat. She squeezed Carters hand as she started to speak "John, when we moved forward with our relationship, I wasn't in the right place to have us be successful. But I took this time to work on me, my issues, and my insecurities. I'm not drinking or smoking anymore, and I did it for me. Because I'm worth it."  
  
"God, yes, Abby you are worth it," Carter said as he pulled her close. "Tell me we are going to be okay."  
  
Abby looked up him, a single tear running down her cheek, "We're going to be okay." 


End file.
